The Financial Supervisory Commission under Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) has recently struck a more flexible policy stance toward the implementation of financial technology, or “fintech,” in Taiwan.
In an Oct. 7 meeting with a fintech trade association, commission officials agreed that rules governing fintech development need to be modified, given the progression of the financial sector and the structure of the nation’s economy.
At the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee meetings last week, the commission confirmed that Koo met with representatives from the Taipei City Government and Taiwan Financial Services Roundtable on Tuesday to discuss potential sites for a fintech innovation park in Taipei, with the aim of building an industrial cluster where businesses could test fintech concepts.
Lawmakers are working on a preliminary review of a draft bill for a “regulatory sandbox,” which would allow businesses to experiment with fintech innovations in a loosely regulated environment.
Whether a new law is drafted or existing regulations are amended to allow for fintech development, the matter entails a time-consuming — if not extremely bureaucratic — process.
Developing an industrial cluster for this emerging industry will also require money from all parties involved, but the commission’s efforts to promote fintech development in Taiwan are necessary, as the financial sector must keep pace with the fast-changing global market and retain its professionals. The move might also encourage non-financial enterprises to develop innovative products that respond to consumer demand for better services.
There is no question that fintech has become a hot topic, but a report released by the Taipei-based China Credit Information Service last week showed that Taiwan’s financial holding companies appear to be much less committed than their regional peers to this new wave of innovation.
The report said that the financial holding firms spent a combined NT$1.25 billion (US$41.3 million at the current exchange rate) on fintech development last year, or 0.37 percent of the US$11.2 billion spent by their peers in Asia.
Taiwan has a long way to go to catch up with its regional neighbors in fintech investment. Practical concerns over earnings and sales increases, as well as difficulties in transforming fintech ideas into marketable applications, have hindered local institutions from making larger investments in fintech.
Conventional financial services are facing comprehensive changes due to technological advances in mobile communication, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Rapid advances in digital technology are creating opportunities and challenges for consumers, service providers and regulators unlike anything seen in the past 100 years.
Many question whether, apart from better and innovative services, fintech can address consumer concerns about trust, security and privacy. If financial institutions cannot earn customer trust, how can they expect customers to visit their brick-and-mortar outlets — let alone their digital platforms?
Although there are no quick fixes for this concern, as Taiwan’s fintech development is in its early stages, one certainty is that fintech legislation must be nimble, timely and accommodative.
Meanwhile, the commission must carefully balance the trade-off between efficiency and stability in the face of the rapid changes in the financial sector.
Most importantly, while paying attention to possible disruptions and risks in the financial landscape, the commission must diligently protect consumers in this era of digitization in financial services and ensure that fintech services providers can comprehensively address the issues of security and privacy.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry